Don't Say No, Don't Let Go
by evermre
Summary: Ben gets something off his chest, and Evie, well, Evie has to decide whether to keep his heart or throw it away.


"Hey, Evie?"

 _God,_ she looked gorgeous. She did something with her hair that made it fall to her waist like soft waves, and her dress, her _dress,_ it was a deep navy, silk, sparkles, too much but just enough at the same time. It highlights just the right parts of her body to drive any boy, and this boy in particular, mad. He wonders if she had made it like that just to torture him.

"Ben, hi!"

She looks up to him with a small smile, looking more at home than anyone else in the ballroom, as if she belonged in her fancy gown and new heels.

"Do you want to dance?"

He can tell she doesn't expect the question. Her mouth parts just slightly, forming a small (and adorable) 'o' shape. Next to her, Jay and Carlos look just as surprised. Mal not so much, she merely crinkles her nose and turns her head away. He probably should've expected that from her.

"Oh, I- well sure."

Evie makes sure to check with Mal before she answers, and although Mal's lips are pressed tightly together, she nods. So Evie says yes, even though she still looks confused. Ben was just glad she hadn't rejected him.

He guides her to the dance floor, past the annoyingly large amount of shocked faces, until they reach the middle. It was a bit awkward, seeing as they were the only people dancing, but he was determined to power through this. They start out stiff, Evie overly cautious of everyone's eyes on them as they danced, Ben hyper aware of her presence in front of him, but they finally fit into somewhat of a groove after getting more settled, and Ben opens his mouth.

"Evie, there's something I have to tell you."

She notices the way Ben seems unsure, uncertain. She doesn't think she's ever seen him look like that since the whole Mal going back to the isle fiasco. It worries her just a little.

"What is it? Are you okay?"

Ben's breath catches in his throat at the way she looks at him, at the way the care for him rolls off her in waves. He knows that could mean nothing, that she could look at any other person like this, but it makes him feel as if he's the only person on earth in that moment. He almost drowns in her gaze alone, before he remembers that he had brought her out here for a reason.

"Don't worry, I'm fine. I just wanted to... confess something... of sorts."

Evie nods, albeit a little hesitantly.

"Go on then."

Ben breathes in until his lungs feel like they're about to explode, and then speaks (kind of).

"Evie, I- I love- I'm in love with-"

"-Mal, I know."

Ben gets so stunned by Evie's words that he almost stumbles over his own feet, effectively stopping them both mid-dance.

"What?"

Evie sighs and shakes her head a little, then takes a step back. Ben stops himself from reaching out for her waist again.

"You want her back, don't you? You realised that you never really stopped loving her and now you want her back. I don't even know why you guys broke up in the first place-"

Ben laughs. He laughs so loud everyone else in the room turns to look at them. Evie's cheeks flush slightly at the sudden attention, and she nudges Ben harshly for causing all the eyes on them now.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, it's just- how did you come to that conclusion?"

Evie huffs, obviously annoyed by his behaviour.

"It's obvious. You and Mal were always meant to be together, true love and all that, right? Stop laughing!"

Ben shakes his head, the laughter finally fading. He forgets why he was so nervous in the first place.

"If obvious means it's totally awkward between us still and we don't really talk to each other anymore, then sure. And that whole true love thing? Might have been true then, but they never said it had to last forever, right? Or that I just had to have _one._ "

Evie lets out a small gasp at the implication that Ben had a new true love, and that it wasn't Mal. But if not her then,

"Who?"

Ben smiles, closer to the normal charming Ben smile than any smiles he had shown the entire night.

"It's you."

Evie falls completely silent then, and looks, for the most part, as if her entire world had just shattered around her. Of all the reactions Ben would've expected, that would've been the last one. He reaches a hand out to make sure she's okay, but she just takes a step back, and looks at him as if he'd gone crazy. Okay, so maybe telling her had been a bad idea after all.

"But- I- how?"

Ben shrugs, and tries his best not to look completely dejected.

"It just, happened? Do you remember when I was freaking out about something silly, like forgetting my dad's birthday, and you calmed me down immediately? I almost went beast mode over something so small but you managed to talk me down in less than a minute. It used to take my mother a whole half hour just to get me to stop growling. I think it might've started then. No one has that effect on me like you do. You always know what to say to calm me down, to make me feel better. And I didn't even realise myself that I was in... love, until a few days ago. And this was long after Mal and I had broken up, so don't worry about that anymore, please."

Evie seems to relax more after Ben's words, but still looks doubtful. Ben's shoulders slouch in defeat. This was definitely a bad idea.

"Okay... okay. I'm dreaming, aren't I? I have to be dreaming right now. You, you can't be really saying all this to me."

Evie seems to have more ways than one to surprise Ben tonight.

"No, this is definitely real, trust me."

She doesn't look like she fully believes what he's saying, so she takes a step closer to him, and brings a hand to his cheek. The sensation is new, but pleasant. Feeling his skin against her palm seems to convince her that this was all real, and at the same time make Ben feel all the more confused than before.

"So that really just happened... you really just told me you loved me. All this time I assumed that it was just- just me that felt all those things. I thought I was so silly for having all these... feelings for you. I thought that what you had with Mal was too important for anything to happen between us. I knew you had broken up but I thought eventually- I mean everyone thought that you and Mal would eventually-"

Evie cuts off there to cast a wary glance back at the table where Mal was sitting. Mal looked sour, arms crossed over her chest, lips set in a thin line, but when she catches Evie looking at her, she stretches her lips into the smallest of smiles. A silent 'it's okay'. Evie lets out a breath she hadn't known she'd been holding in.

Ben feels a weight suddenly lift off his chest at the confirmation that he wasn't alone in his feelings. He knew Mal was still an obstacle that would take time for them to both properly get over, but as long as Evie was with him, he's sure whatever it was they could face it together.

"Listen to me, Mal and I are over, for good. Even if that's hard to believe. Evie, you're the one that I love now, that's all you need to worry about."

Evie still looks as if her entire world had just been shaken up, but manages a slight nod. Ben takes both her hands into his and smiles. It takes a moment, but she smiles back, something small and tentative, but still bright as ever. Ben hasn't felt this hopeful in a while.

"Really? You're sure?"

Ben rolls his eyes, but the way Evie sounds as if she'd just gotten a wish granted makes him happier than words can describe.

"One hundred percent."

Evie smiles so wide then Ben gets a little blown away. He supposed that he would have to get used to that sensation now.

"Well then, I love you too."

He didn't really need to hear those words anymore, but now that she'd actually said them, it makes his heart feel ready to burst. He beams before he pulls her into his chest and presses their lips together. He can hear a few gasps and shocked exclamations around them, but soon tunes them out as he loses himself in the sensation of kissing Evie, _his_ Evie. He can feel her laugh into the kiss, something he knows for certain he will never tire of.


End file.
